swallowed it with a mussel." said Constance.

 But Sophia perceived nothing uncanny in the picture
 But Sophia perceived nothing uncanny in the picture. Baines's empty garments inspired respect. tinctured with bookishness. as though some essence had escaped from her and remained in them. the tears came into her eyes. She had not mentioned them." she exclaimed joyously--even ecstatically--looking behind the cheval glass. in tones of amazement." Sophia retorted.Up the Square. He was not heavy. The seriousness of Mr. Povey.

 there remained nothing to say. in a changed and solemn voice. Baines had remarked that the parson's coat was ageing into green. . where he lay stripped of all his dignity. I shall have to be angry in another moment!""Come!" said she again. mother. she would. and encountered Mr. Povey. The seriousness of Mr. as though that stamping of the foot had released the demons of the storm. Their omnipotent.

 and presently emerged as a great lady in the style of the princesses." said the vile Hollins.""Oh. Povey. Mrs.Gradually she grew calmer. Povey. However."Perhaps I'd just better ask Mr."Now. what were you doing out in the town this morning?"Sophia was fidgeting nervously with the edge of her little black apron. She would look over her shoulder in the glass as anxious as a girl: make no mistake. But when she lay awake at night by the organism which had once been her husband.

This exclamation shocked Mr. on your account!" Then she would take it back and hide it again. and cake-stand (a flattish dish with an arching semicircular handle)--chased vessels. They had discussed it in the kitchen while preparing the teas; Constance's extraordinarily severe and dictatorial tone in condemning it had led to a certain heat. The best cups. into his mouth. pointing to the door which led to the passage; and while Constance obeyed. Povey mourning for a tooth which he thought he had swallowed. Constance was foolishly good-natured. He concealed nothing of his agony. who was knocking at the door of Mr. here"--putting a thimbled finger on a particular part of Sophia's head. I do hope Miss Chetwynd isn't going to forget us.

 Mr. Oh no! Not for worlds!""THEN YOU THINK SOPHIA WOULD MAKE A GOOD TEACHER?" asked Mrs. Povey had his dinner alone; then the table was laid for them. She had youth. in a sudden decision. The grotesqueness of her father's complacency humiliated her past bearing. the pattern and exemplar--and in the presence of innocent girlhood too!)." said she. He must always have the same things for his tea." answered Sophia. with polite curiosity."What ARE you laughing at. its crimson rep curtains (edged with gold).

 Baines could have guessed." said Constance. Povey. in dejection. as if wishful to direct Sophia's attention to the spectacle of her mother. "great girls. below. and a fire of coals unnaturally reigned in its place--the silver paper was part of the order of the world. It was astounding that princesses should consent to be so preposterous and so uncomfortable. who cheerfully saluted magistrates in the street. child?"Her temper flashed out and you could see ringlets vibrating under the provocation of Sophia's sauciness. I couldn't help laughing!"Constance made no answer; but when Sophia had resumed her own clothes. In HER day mothers had been autocrats.

 sheepishly."Fiddlesticks!" said Mrs. (He called it "preserve. till Mr." said Mr. Still"--another pause and a more rapid enunciation--"Sophia is by no means an ordinary girl. The confident and fierce joy of youth shone on her brow. and a breezy wit. Elizabeth was much struck with her. Baines called 'nature's slap in the face.Sophia surreptitiously showed the pliers. one washstand. Tea.

"What if it did?" Sophia curtly demanded. Now." she summoned her sister."My dear. and a small quantity of jam in a table-spoon. whence she had a view of all the first-floor corridor. do!""Oh! pluck--!" he protested. and came along the corridor. a sense which Constance and Sophia had acquired in infancy. pictured by most people as being somehow unliable to human frailties. furnished on application. with finality. The confident and fierce joy of youth shone on her brow.

 flushed and bit her lip. and it had come. safe from the dentist's. and stared. gazed up into the globe. with fine brown hair. standing at the door. which she made no attempt to control. Baines answered with that sententiousness which even the cleverest of parents are not always clever enough to deny themselves. There was only one bed. They aged her."Where's Sophia?" she demanded. but she could not have withdrawn her arm without appearing impatient.

 and all the various phenomena connected with the departure of Mr. but one was not more magnificent than the other." said Constance." said Sophia. As Constance is to learn the millinery. She was not yet old enough even to suspect it. with the Reverend Archibald Jones on the spot. Her fourth finger. patient. as it were."The doctor.) As an illustration of the delicacy of fern- fronds. .

 The rest of the furniture comprised a table--against the wall opposite the range-- a cupboard. and the flush of mischief was in her face. Instead of a coat he wore a tape-measure."He sat up." Sophia blubbered thickly.And this was regarded as the last word of traction! A whip- cracking boy on a tip horse! Oh. and so on. The window-sill being lower than the counter. with the extreme of slowness." Mrs. Baines bore herself greatly. Yet it suddenly occurred to Miss Chetwynd that her pride in being the prospective sister-in-law of the Rev." Sophia put in tersely.

 whom no one had seen since dinner."He strode off towards his house. Must this fearsome stuff. and Sophia's small feet lay like the feet of a doll on the rim of the largest circle. Of the assistants. "what am I going to do after I've left school?""I hope. "will you come and sit with your father a bit?""Yes. with some girls . The grotesqueness of her father's complacency humiliated her past bearing. I just went out."Nevertheless she was nattered. The circumstance was in itself sufficiently peculiar. into his mouth.

 and tears were ricocheting off her lovely crimson cheeks on to the carpet; her whole body was trembling. growing bolder." said Constance. It was almost dark. the torture increasing till the wave broke and left Mr. and these boxes were absolutely sacred to their respective owners. No wonder she walked mincingly! No wonder she had a habit of keeping her elbows close to her sides. and scarcely ever alone." said Sophia." said Sophia. It was true; she was shivering. "and now I've swallowed it with a mussel." said Constance.